Often when a customer or member is visiting a company's application or website, a need arises for the customer or member to complete a transaction or task, or for online customer support from a customer services representative or member services representative (MSR). In some instances the customer may simply need to perform a simple service-related transaction, or have a single question answered. However, the customer may also need to have several related questions answered and would like to have a dialog with a customer support representative without having to pick up the phone and call the representative.
One prior user interface system which has been developed for exchanging information between a customer and an MSR is a chat box which can be accessed by clicking on the appropriate icon on the webpage. Once that is done, a chat dialog is opened, which can be modal or modalless and may be displayed with the dialog or outside of the client application. However, conducting the interaction between the two parties in a chat box format requires cumbersome, natural-language-based, free-form inputs from both parties and does not afford the customer the ability to go back and change prior responses.
Moreover, in prior art user (e.g. member/MSR) interface systems, each customer/member and MSR channel looks and functions differently and these systems are not capable of utilizing background intelligence that may have been obtained from prior chats, interactions or communications exchanged between the parties.
There is a need therefore, for a seamless and consistent user experience across all channels and input/output methods. Moreover, there is a need for an open conversation user interface which can utilize automated background intelligence to simplify the exchange between the software system or an MSR and a member and avoids the need for web-based free form inputs.